As a cooking teacher with a keen interest in authentic ingredients, I have always been intrigued by the food posters that began to pop up in restaurants and gourmet shops more than a decade ago. Each one features an array of fruits and vegetables, all beautifully photographed and designed, making for a mouthwatering presentation.
When a friend recently asked me where she might purchase the Southwest-styled series, her query prompted me to find out a bit more about their genesis.

From true, life-scale images of heirloom tomatoes, chile peppers, squash and Indian corn of the Americas to exotic citrus and tropical and sub-tropical fruits, these vibrant posters combine the knowledge and passions of America's greatest cooks. They are alluring not only for their color and handsome design, but also for their educational slant.

Published by Ten Speed Press and commonly referred to as "chef's posters," the conceptual seed for the series was planted, appropriately, by a chef whose signature Southwest cuisine was inspired by the ingredients he hoped to showcase in print.

One man's hot idea

The chef whose brainstorm brought the original posters to life - two chile posters (fresh and dry, with a choice of two backgrounds), Indian corn of the Americas and squash - is Massachusetts-born, California-educated restaurateur Mark Miller, whose Coyote Café restaurants in Santa Fe and Las Vegas, and Red Sage in Washington, D.C., are the quintessential, modern Southwestern restaurants. When he opened Coyote Café in Santa Fe in 1987, it was soon hailed as the first restaurant to successfully interpret the foods of the Southwest for a contemporary audience.

The menu, which changes constantly, might offer grilled oysters anointed with a spicy poblano chile pesto; a torte-like combination of corn and cilantro crêpes layered with shredded barbecued duck; or a traditional guacamole, made in a molcajete (a coarse stone mortar) with generous amounts of lime juice, cilantro and serrano chiles. The success of Coyote Café put both haute Southwestern cooking and Miller on the culinary map. In the ensuing years, he has sold more than one million cookbooks that celebrate variations on the Southwestern theme - among them Coyote Café, The Great Chile Book, Coyote's Pantry and The Great Salsa Book - in all, nine cookbooks. As a result of his efforts, there isn't a place on the planet that couldn't use some salsa - in fact, he has extended the frontier of "modern southwestern" cooking as far away as Sydney, Australia, where he is opening Wildfire.

Able to see opportunity where others take things for granted, Miller saw more than a poster of fish that was hanging in a French restaurant where he was enjoying dinner in Los Angeles - he instead visualized the four "magic plants" of Southwestern cooking, chiles, corn, squash and beans. Although food posters of apples and mushrooms have been around since the early 20th century, this was perhaps the first time a chef had conceived of a graphic that addressed a personal sensibility or fascination.

"I hoped to educate mainstream America about non-European ideas, concepts and products used in American cuisine," Miller explains. "When we incorporate other food into our repertoire, we accept these cultures as part of ourselves. The level of inclusion is much higher for anyone purchasing a poster."

He went to Mexico with photographer Lois Ellen Frank to capture on film the 31 varieties of chile peppers that the two would use as the ingredients for the poster concept they would later present to Ten Speed Press.

Ten Speed launched Mark Miller's Great Chile posters in 1990. Apparently, the American public was ready for the great cuisine and ingredients of the Southwest. "The chile posters [fresh and dried] are the bestselling posters of all time for Ten Speed - 250,000 to date and going strong," Miller declares. The New Yorker magazine wrote that because of Miller, chiles have been "elevated from local produce to a widely known symbol of a new American haute cuisine." He has subsequently seen his chile posters hanging around the globe - in a supermarket in Japan, in restaurants in Thailand, Italy, England and Ireland, and as a prop in the movie Sleepless in Seattle.

Until Miller's Great Chile poster and cookbook came on the scene, the most popular pepper was the innocuous bell, followed by the pimento, used in making paprika and stuffing olives, and the green jalapeño, common in nachos and green salsas. Miller almost singlehandedly introduced Americans to the smoky chipotle, the fleshy red-brown poblano, the piquant pequin and the flavorful but blazingly hot habañero, spurring on phenomenal interest in hot and spicy foods. The fact that salsa now outsells catsup may be attributed in part to Miller's high-profile crusade to reinvent Southwestern cuisine.

For Miller, who studied Chinese art history and Japanese anthropology at the University of California at Berkeley, cooking is a practical application of his anthropological training. He taught himself to cook with books by James Beard and Craig Claiborne, and learned the tools of the trade by working at Williams-Sonoma in Palo Alto.

"My chosen field of study led me to travel, and it dovetailed perfectly with my culinary interest. I could learn about the fascinating foods of different cultures and then taste them in their original settings," he explains. Travels to Latin America, Africa and Asia prompted him to experiment with ethnic accents, first as an assistant chef for California guru Alice Waters at Chez Panisse in Berkeley in 1976, and later in the same city at his own Fourth Street Grill, where he was one of the first chefs in the country to use mesquite wood for grilling.

"Because of my New England background, I was particularly intrigued by squash. I love the flavor, diversity of colors, shapes and textures of these pre-Columbian plants - one of the oldest domesticated plants in the world," he says. "Corn is one of the sacred plants of the Southwest and has been cultivated by the Hopis for over 2,000 years. Indian corn is highly variegated and occurs naturally in many colors, including blue, red, yellow, white and purple."

Miller's profound respect for the gastronomic heritage of earlier cultures served as inspiration for the posters he has authored, but he refuses to be boxed in by tradition. "I think the usual definition of what is traditional or acceptable in Southwestern food is far too narrow," he explains. "I'm trying to use genuine techniques and ingredients, but sometimes I use them in a new way."

The mistress of heirloom vegetables

Alice Waters is as enthusiastic about fresh, organically grown produce today as she was 30 years ago when the onetime Montessori school teacher opened the doors to Berkeley, California's world-renowned Chez Panisse. Dubbed by The New York Times as the "mother of modern American cooking," she is credited with launching the movement of cooking with organic, seasonal produce and local products harvested at the peak of freshness. Chez Panisse often features produce grown from heirloom seeds, which are preserved by enthusiasts who try to prevent them from becoming extinct.

"People need to care about where their food comes from, who is growing it, how are they taking care of the land, and what quality considerations they think about," she says. The daily changing set-menus are Mediterranean-inspired - simple, straightforward food incorporating olive oil, garlic, vegetables such as heirloom tomatoes, and grains.

Her longtime friend, Ten Speed Publisher Phil Wood, approached Waters with the idea of building on the signature-ingredient poster series he had launched with Miller. The two decided that "Heirloom Tomatoes" was a natural fit. Since 1992, when her posters first appeared, the widespread appeal of heirloom tomatoes, treasured for their taste above all else, has long since fanned out beyond her California constituency and headed east in full force, bringing heightened flavor to home cooking and added cachet to restaurant menus.

Her quest for the freshest and finest led her to Chinos Nojo Ranchos in Sante Fe, where she hand-picked each variety of organically grown heirloom tomato for the poster. She identified and selected them for color and size alongside the photographer.

"You should eat tomatoes at the right season to your heart's content. And then you really don't have the desire for them until they're in season again. My favorite tomato is the Early Girl. I can't live without tomatoes," Waters says. "If I had a cooking school, I'd make everybody go out and work on a farm. So much of the end result of a dish depends on the quality of the ingredients - what is grown, how it's tended, when it's picked, how you decide to use it and how fast it's used."

Many people credit Waters - through her inventive spirit and obsession for fresh ingredients - with changing people's perceptions of American food. She initiated a California farm gardening movement, encouraging farmers to raise safe, delicious foods, and at the same time convinced chefs that buying from the local farmer is important. That standard has been adopted by restaurants all over the country.

The James Beard Foundation named Waters Humanitarian of the Year in 1997 for "advocating local, sustainable agriculture and championing the philosophy that our sense of community should come from an understanding of and respect for the earth." She's an ardent fighter in the battle to keep food natural and safe from pesticides and bioengineering. Her mission extends to working with farmers on broad issues, such as transportation and the environment, and on smaller ones such as cultivating unusual fruits and vegetables.

Chez Panisse was one of the first restaurants to have a full-time "forager" on staff whose job is to seek out the best, freshest ingredients available from local farmers. This applies to all of its vendors (there are about 75), from produce to dairy to meat. Chez Panisse pioneered the practice of identifying on the menu the farms where the ingredients were grown, and also popularized foods, such as baby vegetables, goat cheese and mesclun, and the concept of the wood-burning pizza oven.

Growing up in New Jersey, Waters didn't possess such reverence for fresh, seasonal foods. The cooking was straightforward, simple meat and potatoes with frozen peas or green beans. Her mother was concerned with nutrition and health, but Waters didn't encounter the idea of food eaten simply for pleasure until she went to France at age 19. There she got a sense of where foods came from; she began to eat all kinds of foods she had never before tasted. She reminisces in The Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook about a wonderful meal she ate on a visit to a French country restaurant: "The chef, a woman, announced the menu: cured ham and melon, trout with almonds and raspberry tart. The trout had just come from the stream and the raspberries from the garden. It was this immediacy that made those dishes so special."

Water's vision and dedication have made her, arguably, the most recognized and influential female chef in America. Among her many awards are Best Chef in America from the James Beard Foundation. And while Waters hasn't actually cooked at Chez Panisse in years, she remains the restaurant's guiding light. Nowadays she lends her voice to various societal projects that reflect her passions: the Land Institute, Advisors for Public Voice on Food Safety and Health, and the National Committee of Mothers and Others for Pesticide Limits. She continues to write as well, adding to her long list of cookbooks (Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook, Chez Panisse Pasta, Pizza and Calzone Cookbook, Chez Panisse Desserts, Chez Panisse Cooking, Fanny at Chez Panisse and Chez Panisse Vegetables).

It has been nearly a decade since her tomato poster first went to press, but in large part, those of us with backyard gardens burgeoning with deeply flavorful, heirloom tomatoes have Alice Waters to thank.

The tropical Pied Piper

Norman Van Aken, chef-owner of the wildly acclaimed Norman's restaurant in Coral Gables, Florida, is articulate, open-minded and passionate about the foods of South Florida. This self-taught chef from Illinois has been christened as both "the father of New World Cuisine" and as "a Columbus of chefs among the papayas of South Florida" by The New York Times.

With his two posters illustrating a range of exotic tropical and subtropical fruit, Van Aken visually celebrates the sensual pleasures of papaya, Key lime, avocado, mango, cherimoya, horned melon and mamey sapote, to name just a few.

His culinary innovations have garnered much admiration, among them the Robert Mondavi Culinary Award of Excellence and the James Beard Foundation's Best American Chef in the Southeast (both in 1996). That same year, his restaurant, Norman's, was chosen by the readers of Gourmet magazine as the Number One restaurant in Florida.

A member of the self-proclaimed Mango Gang, Van Aken and a handful of other chefs (Mark Militello, Douglas Rodriguez and Allen Susser, who conceived the "Great Citrus" poster), have been credited with revolutionizing the South Florida dining scene.

Van Aken began his Florida-based career in Key West at Louie's Backyard, where he discovered the Bahamian and Cuban foods that would play such a big role in his future. He capitalized on the flavors of local tropical ingredients by enhancing them with contemporary American cooking techniques - grilling, emulsifying and smoking - adding in a few Asian ingredients if it felt right.

The region's new fare - a fusion of ingredients and techniques from all over the Caribbean and Latin America - depends on a wealth of fresh, tropical ingredients. After seeing Miller's and Water's posters hanging in restaurant kitchens, Van Aken realized what a great tool they were for educating both chefs and waiters.

"As a self-taught chef, cookbooks were mentors for me; I never worked with any famous chefs," he recalls. "The cookbooks allowed me to 'travel' into the kitchens of the renowned chefs of many countries and gain knowledge and inspiration." (For his part, Van Aken has authored Feast of Sunlight and Norman's New World Cuisine and is now at work on two new books, New World: Latin Cuisine and New World: Asian Cuisine.)

"I wanted the rest of the world to know the fruits of New World Cuisine," Van Aken says. He called Ten Speed Press with the idea for a poster, and the company made "Exotic Fruits" its next project.

What started out as one poster quickly became two, as farmers kept bringing in more fruit to be photographed. They divided the rich subject matter into two posters, by tropical and subtropical classification. Van Aken credits not only the growers, but also graphic designer Barbara Flores and photographer Lois Ellen Frank for the final results.

He has seen his posters in diverse locations, from boxer Oscar del LaHoya's kitchen to New York's Lespinasse restaurant, and even used as decor in the movie The Truman Show. But those that hang in his grade school in Diamond Lake, Illinois, are the source of his greatest pride, because he believes strongly about teaching children the vital relationship of food to their lives.

Due in part to his efforts, exotic tropical fruits now appear in mainstream markets beside more standard fare such as bananas and pineapples.

"When I spot a group of people clustered in front of my posters in a market, it gives me unique pleasure to witness their reactions," Van Aken admits. "This is especially true if their English is broken or they happen to be discussing the fruits in a foreign language. It's then that I realize what those posters are all about: It's the universal appeal of sharing the earth's bounty - ever evolving and broadening and unfolding."

Signature Recipes

Linguine with Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette

From Chez Panisse Pasta, Pizza and Calzone by Alice Waters

5 cups cherry tomatoes, preferably Sweet 100s
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 pound linguine
Red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
11/2 cups fresh bread crumbs
Handful of fresh basil leaves
The quality of this simple pasta depends on the excellence of the tomatoes. (Sweet 100 is a varietal name. They are very small and intensely sweet.)

Cut the tomatoes in half and marinate them in olive oil, red wine vinegar to taste, and salt and pepper. Toast the bread crumbs in the oven until dry and lightly browned. Remove from oven and toss with olive oil while still warm. Cut the basil leaves into tiny ribbons. Cook the pasta, and while it is boiling, put the tomatoes in a pan and warm them. Add the finished pasta to the pan and toss with the tomato mixture.

Garnish with the bread crumbs and basil chiffonade. Serves 4


Corn and Squash Salsa

From The Great Salsa Book by Mark Miller


2 tablespoons diced onion
1/4 cup water
2 ears corn
11/2 cups yellow crookneck squash or yellow zucchini, diced to the size of corn kernels
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 sprigs fresh marjoram
5 Roma tomatoes, oven-roasted and diced, or 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (in oil), drained and diced
1 teaspoon minced fresh marjoram
1/2 teaspoon salt
In a sauté pan, cook the onion and water over low heat, covered, for 10 minutes. Cut the corn kernels from the cobs with a sharp knife. Add to the sauté pan together with squash, butter and 2 sprigs marjoram. Cook for 5 minutes longer until the vegetables are soft and the liquid has evaporated. Discard the marjoram and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the tomatoes, marjoram and salt; combine thoroughly.

Chill before serving. Garnish with remaining marjoram sprigs. Makes 21/4 cups. Serve with eggs or as a brunch side dish.


Stir-Fry of Tropical Fruits in Spiced Crêpes

By Chef Norman Van Aken

For the stir-fry:

3 tablespoons canola or grapeseed oil
1 banana, peeled and cut into small cubes (best done at last moment)
1/2 a mango, peeled, pitted and cut into small cubes
1 carambola, thinly sliced and cut into quarters
1 cup of cleaned and diced pineapple
1 cup of seeded watermelon, diced
3 tablespoons Spiced Rum, preferably Captain Morgan's
1 cup apple cider (or juice)
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup of honey
Heat 3 tablespoons of the cooking oil in a large skillet or wok. When the oil is hot, add the fruits and allow them to just soften, about 2 minutes. Now add the rum, cider, lemon juice and honey. Allow all of the fruit to soften and then remove it with a slotted spoon to a mixing bowl.

Reduce the remaining liquid until syrupy. Strain it into a small saucepan. Keep warm. (If this mixture gets too thick, whisk in a bit more cider.) Reserve.

For the crêpe batter:

3 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons melted butter
Whisk the eggs and milk together in a large bowl. Beat in the flour, salt, cinnamon, cloves and melted butter. Reserve.

Make crêpes in the usual way. Spoon some of the warmed fruit compote into 1 quadrant of each crêpe. Fold the crêpe in half and then spoon some fruit into another quadrant.

Serve two crêpes per person on plates or in shallow soup plates. With a spoon, drizzle some of the warm fruit syrup over the folded crêpe. Serves 6

Serving suggestions: Drizzle the finished dish with a bittersweet chocolate sauce, top with shredded, unsweetened, toasted coconut, and/or with a dollop of ice cream. - C. Kotkin




Food Editor Carole Kotkin is a Miami-based food writer, cooking instructor and consultant.



Courtesy of The Wine News